Benton gets a new reporter

The Benton Evening News welcomed a reporter this week who will focus on local news and is already on the hunt for stories.

Holly Kee formerly owned a couple southern Illinois newspapers and recently worked as a local high school English and social studies teacher.

She said she"s looking forward to getting back to her newspaper roots.

"It"s something different every day. I like to meet people," Kee said. "I like working at a small newspaper because I think we need to preserve small-town America. And bringing the stories that people don"t know every day, that they can"t see on Facebook, is important."

Kee will be in the Benton Evening News office on Church Street when she"s not out in the community and can be reached at hkee@bentoneveningnews.com or at 438-5611.

Kee said she"s already heard from a reader who wants to know more about the community, such as what kids are doing in school.

"I want to be the link that lets people know what"s happening in their town," she said.